FINN CLASS
RIO 2016
PREVIEW
Finn form: The long
and winding road to Rio
T
A look ahead to the Rio Olympics
he road to Rio is almost at an end. For most of the
23 Finn sailors who will race for the ultimate prize in
August, it has been a long and winding road, with
many pitfalls, dead ends and road works.
There is not much doubt that Rio’s waters will provide
perhaps the biggest challenge of the sailor's careers. The
unseen currents, the changeable winds, and the hidden
dangers beneath the surface will all conspire to create a
fascinating Games that even the favourite, four times World
Champion Giles Scott, will not take for granted.
Sailors have spent longer training at the venue than at
any previous Olympics, many starting three years ago to
familiarise themselves with the conditions. Many have based
themselves there for protracted periods to get to grips with
Rio’s idiosyncrasies. Most are fully aware it won’t take much for
everything to go horribly wrong for them.
That Scott has won almost everything in sight since his
failure to beat Ben Ainslie for the British place at the London
2012 Olympics means very little. Rio 2016 is just one more
regatta he wants to win; perhaps more than all the rest put
together, but he knows it will not be easy. The others know he
is the favourite, but they also know he can be beaten, and that
is the challenge facing them.
Scott has lost two Finn regattas since the 2011 British trials.
That’s a record of some 19 wins in 21 regattas starting with the
2011 European title. But the unexpected can happen, as it did
in Palma in April of this year, when an unforeseen rudder pintle
breakage probably cost him another regatta win.
The man to take advantage of that was Josh Junior, who
goes into the Games as the only man in Rio with bragging
rights over Scott in more than five years. It may not be much,
but it is something to grasp with both hands.
Mid-cycle Scott was about an unbeatable as it was
possible to imagine, winning regattas with two races to spare
and sometimes by as much as 50 points. He was clearly a
cut above the rest and his smooth, almost casual style spoke
volumes of an innate skill in the boat that transcended his
previous training partner and mentor, Ainslie. He was bigger,
stronger and fitter. He was making it look too easy.
Wake up call
That success was also a wake up call to the rest of the fleet.
They realised that unless they started to catch up, and quickly,
the gold medal in Rio was as good as gone.
Over the following two years Scott continued to win every
regatta, but just occasionally the winning margins became
less. Several times he had to fight himself back into a regatta.
Nevertheless, in this cycle he has won three world titles from
2014 to 2016, the European title in 2014 and perhaps more
significantly, both Olympic test events in Rio. At last year’s test
event he struggled all week only to get break in the medal race
and snatch the gold at the last possible moment.
Qualification
Qualification for Rio started at the 2014 ISAF Sailing World
Championships in Santander. Apart from BRA as host nation,
12 nations qualified there: GBR, CRO, FRA, NZL, USA,
NOR, SWE, DEN, SLO, AUS, HUN, FIN. Next CHN won the
Asian place at the Sailing World Cup Qingdao, NED, GRE,
EST, URU and ITA qualified from the 2015 Finn Gold Cup
in Takapuna, CAN and ARG won the North and South
American places at the 2016 Sailing World Cup Miami,
and finally at the 2016 Princesa Sofia Regatta, TUR won
the final European place, with SEY winning the African
place. It was the most complicated and long drawn out
qualification system ever used for sailing.
For a change, all those who qualified met their
Giles Scott slaps his deck in delight as he comes back from
behind all week long to win the 2015 Rio Test Event.
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National criteria and were given their tickets to Rio. Of
the 23, just seven are sailing their first Olympics, seven
are sailing their second, five are sailing their third, two are
sailing their fourth and two are sailing their fifth: Vasilij
Zbogar and Allan Julie. Zbogar is the oldest sailor this
year at 40, though the average age has dropped from 30
in 2012 to 29 in 2016.
Looking at it quantitatively, based on recent
performance, about 10-12 sailors have the capacity to
medal, and around 18-20 have performed well enough to
make the medal race on August 16.
Junior is uppermost in most people’s mind as a possible
toppler of the great Scott. He only moved into the Finn in 2013
after a failed attempt to win the 2012 Laser campaign from
Andrew Murdoch, who also moved into the Finn after 2012.
Junior’s biggest problem used to be consistency, but having won
the NZL trials against Murdoch, one of the most conservative
sailors in the game, perhaps he has now got that under control.
Junior has spent much of the past year training with PieterJan Postma, perhaps the most flamboyant, risk taking sailor in
the fleet. The partnership has clearly worked though as both
sailors have benefitted from each other. Postma has lurked
near the top for years, but always failed to convert potential
to gold. That changed in 2014 with his first major victory at
the Hyeres World Cup, but it took another two years before he
would win his first title, the 2016 European Championship.
While NZL qualified in the first round at the 2014 ISAF
Worlds in Santander, Postma had to wait until the Finn Gold
Cup in Takapuna to win his place.
Of the 23 sailors in Rio, only 11 sailed the Finn at London
2012, including two of the medallists, Jonas Høgh-Christensen
and Jonathan Lobert.
After winning silver in London, and narrowly missing the
gold, Høgh-Christensen stepped away from Finn sailing for two
years. He returned in the summer of 2014 to qualify Denmark
in Santander, though was still unsure whether he wanted to
do another Olympic campaign. However, he didn’t take much
persuading and by Palma in 2015 he had a full programme
running, culminating in a second place at this year’s Gold Cup.
In contrast, Lobert never stopped. However it took him
another three years to win his first major championship
medal, silver in Takapuna in 2015. Lobert is part of the group
that has probably spent more time in Rio than any other
foreign sailor. Together with Max Salminen and Tapio Nirkko
the group should know the conditions well enough, but have
sacrificed that knowledge against regatta experience.
If local knowledge proves key, then the fleet also includes
Brazil's 2013 World Champion and winner in Miami this year,
Jorge Zarif, who should be pushing the front.
Other experienced sailors include three time European
champion Ivan Kjlakovic Gapsic, third time Olympian, Deniss
Karpak, and for the second time Giorgio Poggi.
Rising stars
Of the new young group sailing their first Olympics, Jake
Lilley is perhaps one of the brightest stars. He towers over
most of the fleet and has been steadily rising through the
ranks over the past three years and could pose a threat
at the front. Caleb Paine and Anders Pedersen are equally
promising and are all capable of a result. In contrast, Tom
Ramshaw has spent less than a year in the boat, but has
achieved some phenomenal results in that short time. If these
sailors continue progressing at the same rate, they are going
to be the front runners in Tokyo.
One of the success stories of the last cycle has been
the establishment of the Dinghy Academy in Valencia. That
success is reflected in the number of sailors based there that
qualified for Rio, or have used it as a training venue on their
road to Rio. Nine of the 23 sailors have benefitted from Luca
Devoti’s experience and training methods including Zsombor
Berecz, who won silver at this year’s Europeans and double
Olympic Laser medallist Vasilij Zbogar. In addition, two
of those sailors – Facundo Olezza and Alejandro Foglia
– have also been directly funded through the Finn class
development programme to train in Valencia.
Form book
However, what all the sailors are saying, whatever their
past results would otherwise indicate, is that this will be an
Olympics where past form means very little. They all agree
that these Games will be very tough to manage, and very
difficult to predict, and to win you have to be the best all
round sailor - and perhaps a little lucky.
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Facundo Olezza (ARG)
Age: 21
World Ranking (highest): 64 (61)
Previous Olympics: None
Recent results: SWC Miami 2016 (10), Europeans
2016 (69), Palma (58), Silver Cup 2015 (8)
F
acundo Olezza is the youngest of the Finn
sailors competing in Rio. He started sailing the
Finn in February 2015, when he grew too big to sail
the Laser, also after some 49er sailing in Argentina.
When he switched to the Finn he joined the Dinghy
Academy in Valencia and has not looked back. He
has only competed in six major events in his Finn
career, but his coach, Luca Devoti, sees enormous
potential in the young sailor. Having spent most of
the year recovering from injury, he sailed the Sailing
World Cup Miami with a partially healed broken hand
to qualify Argentina for the South American place
in Rio, practicing and learning new techniques over
the New Year to be able to race.
Jake Lilley (AUS)
Age: 23
World Ranking (highest): 5 (2)
Previous Olympics: None
Recent results: Finn Gold Cup 2016 (4), Hyeres
2016 (1), Europeans 2016 (37), Palma 2016 (4),
Miami 2016 (4)
J
ake Lilley stands head and shoulders over most
of the fleet and is beginning to show a lot of
potential on the race course with several top results
in the past year. He qualified Australia for Rio in
2014 but then had an extended trials against Oliver
Tweddell that only ended after the Gold Cup this
year, after both sailors raised their game enough for
a 1, 2 finish in Hyeres. An intensely physical sailor
Lilley started sailing Finns in 2012, when at 2 metres
tall and 96 kg he had outgrown the Laser. He soon
found his way in the Finn and early on set himself
some very high goals, and with his then coach, John
Bertrand, won the 2014 Junior European title.
Jorge Zarif (BRA)
Age: 23
World Ranking (highest): 7 (6)
Previous Olympics: 2012 (20)
Best Results: Finn Gold Cup 2013 (1)
Recent Results: Finn Gold Cup (17), Hyeres (7)
Palma (9), Europeans (7), 2015 Finn Gold Cup (7)
J
orge Zarif was the youngest sailor in the Finn fleet
at 2012 Olympics, just 19, but one year later went
on to win the world title in Tallinn, Estonia. He has been
mainly coached by Rafa Trujillo during this cycle, and
has had moderate success at some regattas, notably
winning the Miami World Cup in 2016 against a top
class field. Zarif has been competing in the Finn since
2008 when he was just 15. Though he sails from the
Iate Clube do Rio de Janeiro, his hometown is São
Paulo, where he won his seventh Brazilian national title
in February. He is now just two short of the record set
by his father, the late Jorge Zarif Zeto, who competed
in the Finn in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.
Tom Ramshaw (CAN)
Age: 24
World Ranking (highest): 27 (27)
Previous Olympics: None
Recent results: Finn Gold Cup 2016 (8)
Europeans 2016 (10), Miami 2016 (13)
Palma 2016 (31)
T
om Ramshaw only took up Finn sailing at the end
of 2015 after taking a break from the Laser, when
it was suggested he try the boat. He immediately
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knew it was the boat for him, qualified Canada for
Rio at the SWC Miami in January 2016 and then
produced an outstanding 10th place at his first
overseas Finn event at the Europeans in Barcelona.
He followed that with six weeks training at the
Dinghy Academy in Valencia before placing eighth
at the Finn Gold Cup in Gaeta, to be selected shortly
after. His progress after just nine months in the boat
has been nothing short of astonishing.
Lei Gong (CHN)
Age: 33
World Ranking (highest): 56 (56)
Previous Olympics: 2012 (24)
Recent results: Hyeres (27), Miami (7), Finn Gold
Cup 2015 (52), SWC Qingdao 2015 (1), Rio Test
Event 2015 (17)
L
ei Gong is sailing his third Olympic campaign
and Rio will be his second Olympics. His best
result of this cycle was a seventh at this year’s
Miami World Cup, including a string of top seven
places. While China does have a strong fleet of
Finn sailors, they rarely appear at international
events. Gong is no exception having sailed only
eight ranking events since 2012. He goes into
the Olympics as one of the lowest ranked sailors,
but three places higher than in 2012. His first
international event was the Europeans in 2004
where he picked up the bronze medal in the Junior
European championship.
Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO)
Age: 32
World Ranking (highest): 12 (1)
Previous Olympics: 2008 (8), 2012 (5)
Best results: European Champion 2009, 2010,
2015; 2009 Finn Gold Cup (3)
Recent results: 2016 Europeans (8), 2016 Finn Gold
Cup (20), Hyeres (9), 2015 Finn Gold Cup (20)
I
van Kljakovic Gaspic is one of the most experienced
sailors in the fleet with an excellent record of regatta
wins and top finishes. However since claiming his
third European title last year he has failed to live up
to expectations, as seen in his drop from world No 1
in October 2015 to his current 12th. This is perhaps
largely due to a tense and often heated Olympic trials
against Milan Vujasinovic, which was only settled at
the Finn Gold Cup this year. However Gaspic is a
formidable sailor in all conditions and generally one
of the most consistent sailors on the circuit.
Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN)
Age: 35
World Ranking (highest): 6 (1)
Previous Olympics: 2004 (9), 2008 (6), 2012 (2)
Best results: World Champion 2006, 2009
Recent results: 2016 Finn Gold Cup (2), Hyeres
(6), Palma (16), 2016 Europeans (12), Miami (2)
J
onas Høgh-Christensen has the knack of
peaking at just the right time, and is one of the
smartest sailors on the circuit. After a disappointing
2008 Olympics where he was one of the favourites
he took several years off. He won his second Finn
Gold Cup in 2009 after a year out of the boat, before
coming back a year later with a superb campaign for
London 2012. After that he went back to the music
industry in Denmark before coming out of retirement
for a second time in 2014. His results over the last
year show a familiar upward trend as he heads into
his fourth Olympics in the Finn.
Deniss Karpak (EST)
Age: 30
World Ranking (highest): 19 (1)
Previous Olympics: 2008 Laser (24), 2012 (11)
Best results: 2011 Finn Gold Cup (8)
Recent results: 2016 Finn Gold Cup (13),
Europeans (40), 2015 Finn Gold Cup (11), Kiel
2015 (1), Kiel 2016 (4)
D
eniss Karpak moved into the Finn after the 2008
Olympics after he got too big for the Laser and
has been a regular in the top 20, occasionally top 10
ever since, including winning races at all levels. He
led the 2016 Finn Gold Cup early on before suffering
on the windier days at the end. Even though he is
one of the tallest and biggest sailors in the fleet he
seems to produce his best in the lighter, trickier
winds, which could bode well for Rio. Karpak has
won the Sailor of the Year in Estonia on numerous
occasions and was the Best Young Athlete of the
Year in Estonia in 2007.
Tapio Nirkko (FIN)
Age: 31
World Ranking (highest): 13 (7)
Previous Olympics: 2008 (18), 2012 (10)
Best results: 2015 Test Event (2), 2009 Europeans (2)
Recent results: 2016 Palma (3), 2015 Finn Gold
Cup (10), Hyeres (34), Weymouth (4)
T
apio Nirkko is a very tall and strong sailor, as
well as a very hard to predict sailor. He is clearly
capable of beating everyone on his day but has
often struggled with consistency when it counts. For
many years he has been the only competitve Finn
sailor in Finland. On the occasions when he has put
it all together he is a force to be reckoned with, and
picking up the silver medal at the 2015 Test Event in
Rio was not only the best regatta he has ever sailed,
but also a sign of his true potential. He is one of a
few sailors who have spent huge amounts of time
training in Rio, so should have a good handle on the
conditions to remain consistent.
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Jonathan Lobert (FRA)
Age: 31
World Ranking (highest): 2 (2)
Previous Olympics: 2012 (2)
Best results: 2015 Finn Gold Cup (3)
Recent results: 2015 Test Event (4), Palma (8),
Hyeres (3), Weymouth (2)
J
onathan’s Lobert’s bronze medal at the 2012
Olympics was until late in 2015 his only major
medal in the Finn class. For many years he failed
to convert his potential into a medal, except at
Weymouth and he has a very athletic style in the boat,
especially downwind. Now that he has overcome his
medal shortage with a silver at the 2015 Finn Gold
Cup, his confidence has blossomed and he is one
of the top favourites in Rio. His selection for Rio
was almost assured after long time training partner
Thomas Le Breton dropped out of the race, allowing
Lobert to focus on training in Rio, and he has done
a lot of that.
Giles Scott (GBR)
Age: 29
World Ranking (highest): 1 (1)
Previous Olympics: None
Best results: Finn Gold Cup 2016 (1), 2015 (1),
2014 (1), 2011 (1), Europeans 2014 (1), 2011 (1)
Recent results: 2015 Test Event (1), Weymouth (1),
Palma (2)
G
iles Scott goes into the Olympics as the
absolute favourite after only being beaten
twice in the last five years. Apart from gear failure
in Palma this year, he is unbeaten since April 2013.
He has spent considerable time in Rio training and
has only competed in four major regattas since last
year’s test event. Many thought he would have won
gold at London 2012 given the chance, but he lost
out to Ben Ainslie for selection. Now he finally has
his chance and following his win at the Weymouth
World Cup he will go into the Games as reigning
world champion and World No. 1.
Ioannis Mitakis (GRE)
Age: 26
World Ranking (highest): 10 (6)
Previous Olympics: 2012 (14)
Best results: Europeans (1)
Recent results: 2016 Finn Gold Cup (6), Hyeres
(11), Palma (6), 2016 Europeans (9), 2015 Finn
Gold Cup (9), 2015 Test Event (16)
I
oannis Mitakis first appeared in a Finn in 2009 and
took the Junior European title twice before moving
on to taking the 2012 senior European title in very
light and shifty winds. A clearly talented sailor, he
has upped his game since London 2012 and is
regularly in the top ten at major events, including
winning many races but has yet to take a medal at a
major event since the 2012 win. Though historically
better in lighter winds, he has also improved in a
breeze to become a great all round sailor and should
be challenging the front in Rio.
Zsombor Berecz (HUN)
Age: 30
World Ranking (highest): 38 (14)
Previous Olympics: 2008 Laser (29), 2012 Laser
(21)
Best results: 2016 Europeans (2)
Recent results: 2015 Finn Gold Cup (23)
Palma (7), 2015 Test Event (11)
Z
sombor Berecz moved into the Finn after two
Olympics in the Laser and immediately started
producing results. Coming from Lake Balaton,
he made the decision early on to join the Dinghy
Academy in Valencia and has clearly benefitted from
training there ever since. Going into the Games he
perhaps lacks regatta practice, preferring to train
in his Valencia group, having only competed in
three events since last year’s test event, but picked
up silver at the Europeans this year, the highest
placed Hungarian ever at an International Finn
championship.
Giorgio Poggi (ITA)
Age: 34
World Ranking (highest): 16 (6)
Previous Olympics: 2008 (11)
Best results: 2016 Finn Gold Cup (5)
Recent results: Hyeres (13), Palma (27), 2016
Europeans (33), Miami 11, 2015 Finn Gold Cup (24)
G
iorgio Poggi won perhaps the most intense of all
the Olympic trials to earn his space in Rio, fighting
all the way to the Finn Gold Cup this year when a
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fifth place earned him his ticket. After sailing in 2008
and narrowly missing the medal race, he lost a close
2012 trials. This time around he has been coached
by Emilios Papathanasiou, and is sailing as well as
he has ever done. He has certainly raised his game
for the selections, producing his best ever result at
the Finn Gold Cup, the question is whether he can
continue this form through to the Games. Between
2002 to 2008 Poggi won six gold medals in different
classes at the Italian national championships.
Provisional schedule
Medals by nation
Nation
Gold
Great Britain*
4
Denmark*
3
USSR
1
USA*
Spain
2
France*
1
New Zealand*
1
Belgium
Germany/DDR
2
Poland
1
Austria
Italy*
Sweden*
Finland*
1
Greece*
US Virgin Islands
Australia*
Canada*
Netherlands*
-
Silver Bronze
1
1
1
2
2
4
1
1
2
2
2
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
Total
5
5
5
5
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
Friday 5 August
Tuesday 9 August
Wednesday 10 August
Thursday 11 August
Friday 12 August
Saturday 13 August
Sunday 14 August
Monday 15 August
Tuesday 16 August
Opening Ceremony
Races 1 & 2
Race 3 & 4
Races 5 & 6
Reserve Day
Races 7 & 8
Races 9 & 10
Reserve Day
Medal Race and Medal Ceremony
Pão de Acucar
Niterói
Escola Naval
Copacabana
Niterói
Pão de Acucar
Race areas
Ponte
Marina da Aeroporto
Glória
Pão de
Acucar
Escola
Naval
Niterói
Copacabana
*Nations competing in 2016
Pai
Pieter-Jan Postma (NED)
Age: 34
World Ranking (highest): 3 (2)
Previous Olympics: 2008 (14), 2012 (4)
Best results: 2016 Europeans (1), 2011 Finn Gold
Cup (2), 2016 Finn Gold Cup (3)
Recent results: 2015 Test Event (3), Palma (5),
2015 Finn Gold Cup (6)
P
ieter-Jan Postma is undoubtedly the most
popular sailor on the circuit with a very positive
and introspective outlook, but this has been as much
hindrance as a help, as he has been prone to taking
unnecessary risks. He was heading for a medal in
London 2012, but for a last minute rash move. Since
then has refocussed and is more calm than ever
before. His European title win this year comes amid
a string of podium potential performances over the
last 12 months, including leading the 2015 Test Event
every day, only losing gold on the punishing medal
race, something that he intends to rectify this year.
Anders Pedersen (NOR)
Age: 24
World Ranking (highest): 11 (10)
Previous Olympics: None
Best Results: 2014 Finn Silver Cup (1), 2014 Finn
Gold Cup (8)
Recent results: Hyeres (5), Palma (14), 2016
Europeans (14), Miami (8), 2015 Test Event (1)
A
nders Pedersen is one of the rising stars of the
Finn fleet. After a seminal 2014 season in which
he won the Junior Worlds and qualified Norway for
the Olympics at the ISAF Worlds in Santander, he has
improved to the point where he is regularly at the top
of big fleets and challenging the big names. Coached
by Peer Moberg, since 2015 he has also trained
alongside Jonas Høgh-Christensen and hopes learn
more from the Dane’s experience. Pedersen started in
the Optimist aged six and found he could overcome
a fear of sailing by himself by practicing, so has been
practicing for this ever since.
Josh Junior (NZL)
Age: 26
World Ranking (highest): 3 (1)
Previous Olympics: None
Best results: Palma 2016 (1), 2015 Europeans (2)
Recent results: Hyeres (4), 2015 Finn Gold Cup
(14), 2015 Test Event (5), 2016 Europeans (4)
J
osh Junior is from Wellington and has been sailing
since he was five years old. He won selection
for Rio against Andrew Murdoch, to whom he lost
selection to in the Laser class in 2012. Junior is one of
the brightest talents in the fleet and the only sailor in
Rio to have bragging rights that he has beaten Giles
Scott since 2012. His win in Palma this year was a
career highlight and his first major win in the class.
A former New Zealand match racing champion, he
goes into Rio as a firm favourite for a medal as long
as he can keep consistency, which has often been
his downfall in the past. Junior is coached by John
Cutler, who took bronze in the Finn at Seoul 1988.
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Allan Julie (SEY)
Age: 39
World Ranking (highest): 89 (89)
Previous Olympics: Laser: 1996 (37), 2000 (28),
2004 (20), 2008 (32)
Recent results: 2016 Finn Gold Cup (45), Palma
(56), Hyeres (32), 2016 Europeans (62)
A
llan Julie sailed four Olympics in the Laser
and is a national sporting hero in his native
Seychelles. He was tempted back to the Olympics
by the opportunity of wining the African nation place
and duly qualified in Palma this year. A product of
the SailCoach programme he has been helped by
his good friend Vasilij Zbogar, from the days training
together in Lasers. Julie won gold in the Laser at the
2011 All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. At
the 2004 Olympics, as the most experienced member
of the Seychelles team, Julie was the flag bearer for
Seychelles at the opening ceremony. He has also
been Seychelles Sportsman of the Year five times.
Vasilij Zbogar (SLO)
Age: 40
World Ranking (highest): 35 (4)
Previous Olympics: Laser: 2000 (19), 2004 (3),
2008 (2); Finn: 2012 (6)
Best results: 2013 Europeans (1), 2015 Finn Gold
Cup (3), 2015 Europeans (3)
Recent results: 2016 Europeans (6), Test Event (13)
V
asilij Zbogar is a four time Olympian already and
has the dubious honour of being the oldest Finn
sailor in Rio. After a tough trials for 2012, he was
selected early for 2016 and like many has focussed
on training in Valencia rather than travelling, having
competed in only three events in the past year. He
lost much of the 2015 season after a cycling accident,
but recovered to take his first world championship
medal at the 2015 Finn Gold Cup. He is one of the
most famous sportsmen in Slovenia, was Slovenian
Sportsman of the Year in 2004 and will be the flag
bearer for Slovenia at the Opening Ceremony in Rio.
Max Salminen (SWE)
Age: 27
World Ranking (highest): 4 (4)
Previous Olympics: 2012 Star (1)
Best results: 2015 Finn Gold Cup (5), 2013
Europeans (7)
Recent results: Weymouth (3), Hyeres (10), Palma
(10), La Rochelle 2015 (1), 2015 Test Event (6)
M
ax Salminen moved into the Finn class after
winning the gold in the Star class at the
London 2012 Olympics, along with his helm Freddy
Lööf. For Rio he won a fairly tense and close trials
against Björn Allansson and has improved year on
year to the point where he is now regularly qualifying
for medal races. He has spent more time training
in Rio than most of the fleet – he says 150 days –
and less time at regattas. Coached by Dayne Sharp,
he is a quick and tactically astute sailor and stands
a good chance at claiming a medal to add to his
London gold.
1952-1956-1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004-2008-2012
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Olympic Medalists - Finn Class 1952- 2012
Year Venue
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
1952 Helsinki, Finland
Paul Elvstrøm, Denmark
Charles Currey, Great Britain
Rickard Sarby, Sweden
1956 Melbourne, Australia
Paul Elvstrøm, Denmark
André Nelis, Belgium
John Marvin, USA
1960 Naples, Italy
Paul Elvstrøm, Denmark
Alexsander Chuchelov, USSR
André Nelis, Belgium
1964 Enoshima, Japan
Willy Kuhweide, Germany
Peter Barrett, USA
Henning Wind, Denmark
1968 Acapulco, Mexico
Valentin Mankin, USSR
Hubert Raudaschl, Austria
Fabio Albarelli, Italy
1972 Kiel, West Germany
Serge Maury, France
Elias Hatzipavlis, Greece
Victor Potapov, USSR
1976 Kingston, Canada
Jochen Schumann, DDR
Andrei Balashov, USSR
John Bertrand, Australia
1980 Tallinn, USSR
Esko Rechardt, Finland
Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Austria
Andrei Balashov, USSR
1984 Long Beach, USA
Russell Coutts, New Zealand
John Bertrand, USA
Terry Neilson, Canada
1988 Pusan, Korea
Jose Luis Doreste, Spain
Peter Holmberg, US Virgin Islands John Cutler, New Zealand
1992 Barcelona, Spain
José Maria v.d Ploeg, Spain
Brian Ledbetter, USA
1996 Savannah, USA
Mateusz Kusnierewicz, Poland Sebastien Godefroid, Belgium
Roy Heiner, Netherlands
2000 Sydney, Australia
Iain Percy, Great Britain
Luca Devoti, Italy
Fredrik Lööf, Sweden
2004 Athens, Greece
Ben Ainslie, Great Britain
Rafael Trujillo, Spain
Mateusz Kusznierewicz, Poland
2008 Qingdao, China
Ben Ainslie, Great Britain
Zach Railey, USA
Guillaume Florent, France
2012 Weymouth & Portland, UK Ben Ainslie, Great Britain
Craig Monk, New Zealand
Jonas Høgh-Christensen, Denmark Jonathan Lobert, France
Alican Kaynar (TUR)
Age: 27
World Ranking (highest): 20 (17)
Previous Olympics: 2012 (18)
Best results: 2013 Europeans (10)
Recent results: 2016 Finn Gold Cup (21), Palma
(18), 2016 Europeans (27), Miami (17), 2015 Finn
Gold Cup (34)
A
lican Kaynar has been the only internationally
competitive Finn sailor in Turkey this cycle and
has largely been based at the Dinghy Academy
since 2012, but more recently has been training
alongside Giorgio Poggi. He qualified Turkey for the
Olympics at the last possible chance, in Palma this
year. He has always shown far more promise than
he has delivered, winning races at major events,
but rarely finishing inside the top 10 at the end.
However he is a skilled and intelligent sailor who is
more than capable of being in the medal race come
16 August.
Alejandro Foglia (URU)
Age: 32
World Ranking (highest): 45 (36)
Previous Olympics: Laser: 2004 (34), 2008 (17),
2012 (8)
Best results: 2016 Europeans (12)
Recent results: Palma (22), 2015 Finn Gold Cup
(17), 2015 Europeans (13)
A
lejandro Foglia is the first Uruguay Finn sailor to
compete at the Olympics since 1968 and only the
second athlete in the history of Uruguay to qualify for
four Olympic Games. At the 2008 Olympics he was
the flagbearer for the Uruguay team. He qualified for
the final open spot at the Olympics during the 2015
Finn Gold Cup in Takapuna. Since he joined the Finn
class in 2013 he has been supported by the Finn
class development programme, FIDeS, and moved
to Valencia to train at the Dinghy Academy. In spite
of a series of injuries setting back his campaign he
remains one of the fittest Finn sailors in the fleet.
Caleb Paine (USA)
Age: 25
World Ranking (highest): 9 (1)
Previous Olympics: None
Best results: 2012 Delta Lloyd Regatta (1), 2015
Finn Gold Cup (12)
Recent results: Hyeres (8), Palma (13), 2016
Europeans (24), Miami (6), 2015 Test Event (15)
C
aleb Paine is described as the most hard working
sailor on the circuit. He says it’s because he
need to train to make up for lack of talent. That hard
work paid off earlier this year in Barcelona when he
overcame double Olympian Zach Railey to earn his
chance to represent the USA in Rio. That regatta of
course included the now famous mark trap incident
from Railey that so nearly cost Paine his Olympic
dream. Paine was introduced to the Finn in 2008 and
has been moving in one direction ever since. Following
a brief period in 2012, when he won the World Cups in
Medemblik and Miami, he became the World No. 1.
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